The present invention relates to a device for fixing a tubular element on a tubular connecting spigot of a component, of use in particular in the automobile industry.
The device according to the invention may thus be employed for example for connecting a cooling radiator to an engine of an automobile vehicle.
Modern automobile vehicles comprise a bonnet or hood which is becoming increasingly streamlined to improve the coefficient of penetration of the vehicle in the air.
Space available under the bonnet for the radiator is consequently reduced relative to older vehicles.
The water of the cooling circuit is consequently relatively less cooled on modern vehicles and this water is during the operation of the vehicle at a pressure and temperature which are substantially higher than the pressure and temperature of the water in cooling circuits of older vehicles.
This increase in pressure results in risk of leakage in the region of the joints between the flexible connecting pipes and the rigid connecting spigots, for example connecting the radiator to the engine.
In the art, the flexible connecting pipe or connector is engaged on the corresponding rigid spigot and fixed in a sealed manner on the latter by a clamping collar placed around the flexible connector.
The clamping collars employed may be of different types.
Resilient collars are for example employed, but these collars do not ensure a very good seal when the pressure in the cooling circuit is substantially higher than atmospheric pressure.
Moreover, these resilient collars require the use of specific tools for mounting and dismounting the collars.
Clamping collars including a rack system may also be employed, but these collars also require the use of a specific tooling for mounting and dismounting the collars.
Further, dismounting such collars is a very difficult operation.
It is also possible to employ collars having a screw disposed tangentially, but these collars are very difficult to place correctly in position on the connector and the spigot. Moreover, the correct clamping of these collars cannot be visually checked.
Consequently, the joint devices of cooling circuits, in which the flexible connectors are fitted on the rigid spigots of the circuit and clamped by collars, are unsatisfactory under present conditions, that is, in the case of cooling circuits operating at high pressure. Further, these devices cannot be mounted in an automatic manner.